"Excellent! Reached all the curriculum requirements – a great day out!”

Jan 23, 2018

Brigit's Herbs

Brigit was a herbalist and used wild herbs to nourish and heal body and spirit. Many of her plants grow in our gardens, hedgerows and meadows, providing wild and free medicine that has been used for thousands of years.

Dandelion represents Brigit more than any other herb, and is one of the Brigit symbols in the Imbolc garden. Dandelion symbolises the elements of fire and sacred flame associated with Brigit, and, like fire, can transform both physically and spiritually. The gentle bitterness of Dandelion leaves stimulate the digestive and endocrine systems and nourish the kidneys. They are high in potassium and other trace minerals and may lower blood pressure.

Rose is a gently powerful healer and is beneficial added to any tea blend. Rose eases depression, uplifts the nervous system and opens and supports the heart, both physically and emotionally. It is an amazing wash for the skin, offering a lovely blush and glow. Rose is both strong and vulnerable, just like Brigit.

Blackberry is high in nutrients and anti-oxidants, tonifying to the body and nurturing to the womb. You can make a tea from its leaves and flowers and syrup from its berries. Blackberry is tenacious and its brambles offer protection to small animals as well as providing natural boundaries. Blackberry shares that wisdom with us, helping us to discern appropriate boundaries in our lives as well as offering us its embrace of protection.

Here are a few more of Brigit’s favourite healers: laughter, sleep, water, honey and prayer. Together with the herbs, these offer deep nourishment to body and spirit. They are common and simple and free, readily available to us and all around us. These herbs and practices helped heal our ancestors and are here for us today.

At Brigit’s Garden we have created a herbal tea called Brigit’s Mantle that is filled with her favourite herbs. Enjoy a pot at the café when we re-open this spring or take a bag with you to enjoy at home.

Children from all around County Galway have been visiting the Garden for our Spring school workshops. They are planting seeds in the polytunnel, searching for the signs of spring in the Celtic Gardens and making bird nests in the woodlands.

Brigit’s Garden is looking for facilitators to work through both the Irish and English language as part of our experienced and enthusiastic Education Team. Brigit’s Garden offers a range of high-quality, inspirational and educational workshops for all ages. This role would involve working mainly with primary school students but may also include working with secondary schools and summer camps.

It has been a long winter and your home has held you well. Now, as the days warm, you are inclined to open the windows wider and invite in the freshness of renewal. Now is the time to clear away and make room for what will grow in your own life this season. Spring is the perfect time to cleanse your personal space to eliminate old energies and make way for the fresh and the new, to give love and intention to your beloved house and home.

Brigit was a herbalist and used wild herbs to nourish and heal body and spirit. Many of her plants grow in our gardens, hedgerows and meadows, providing wild and free medicine that has been used for thousands of years.

This year the Winter Solstice falls on 21st December and marks the shortest day of the year. Solstice means ‘sun-stop’, and for three days around the solstice the sun appears to rise and set at the same point, moving in a low arc through the sky and casting the longest shadow of the year on our Calendar Sundial.

More than just a flavour for your pasta sauce, thyme is a robust herb available almost year around, offering many healing properties. Be sure to continue to add thyme to your soups, stews and sauces, as food is medicine! Thyme has wonderful properties to keep our bodies healthy during the cold, cough and flu season.

The vanilla-almond scent of meadowsweet fills the air this month and her creamy white, frothy flowers polka-dot fields and hedgerows. Known also as Queen of the Meadow, she is a majestic sight, a balm for the eyes and the spirit and medicine for the body.

Sunrise Children’s Festival at Brigit’s Garden is back for 2017 and have just announced their full line-up across four stages, showcasing the best in children’s entertainment with live music, theatre, magicians, puppeteers and much more.

Children from all around County Galway have been visiting the Garden for our Spring school workshops. They are planting seeds in the polytunnel, searching for the signs of spring in the Celtic Gardens and making bird nests in the woodlands.

Brigit’s Garden is looking for facilitators to work through both the Irish and English language as part of our experienced and enthusiastic Education Team. Brigit’s Garden offers a range of high-quality, inspirational and educational workshops for all ages. This role would involve working mainly with primary school students but may also include working with secondary schools and summer camps.

It has been a long winter and your home has held you well. Now, as the days warm, you are inclined to open the windows wider and invite in the freshness of renewal. Now is the time to clear away and make room for what will grow in your own life this season. Spring is the perfect time to cleanse your personal space to eliminate old energies and make way for the fresh and the new, to give love and intention to your beloved house and home.

Brigit was a herbalist and used wild herbs to nourish and heal body and spirit. Many of her plants grow in our gardens, hedgerows and meadows, providing wild and free medicine that has been used for thousands of years.